After four seasons of playing nearly a dozen characters in one series, Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany received her well-deserved Emmy award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. This was her second nomination for playing Sarah Manning, Cosima Niehaus, Alison Hendrix, Helena, Rachel Duncan, Beth Childs, and the rest of the Clone Club. (And her win apparently broke the internet.)
It’s also exciting since Orphan Black will be wrapping up its run next season. An emotional Maslany read her speech off her cell phone, ending with the pronouncement that “I feel so lucky to be on a show that puts women at the center.”
She expounded on that line backstage: “It’s become a real point of pride for all of us on this show. The response after the first season was so much positivity in terms of representation and the way that young girls were seeing themselves portrayed on screen; the LGBT community, as well, really reached out and supported us. It’s been a really connecting thing in terms of the fans and has become something we feel responsible in continuing to tell those stories. It’s also a joy; like I was saying, the same thing with the challenge of doing the show, there is an immense challenge in getting to tell women’s stories that we don’t normally see.”
BBC America, which has a great handle on the mix of serious drama and wtf-ness it takes to market Orphan Black, put out this short but sweet congratulations to Maslany:
Orphan Black wasn’t the only genre series to have a win at the Emmys: Rami Malek won Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Mr. Robot; Game of Thrones picked up Best Drama Series, as well as the awards for writing and directing, breaking the record for most awarded series; and Sherlock‘s “The Abominable Bride” won Best TV Movie. Check out the full list of winners here.
